Pod system for houseboat assembly

ABSTRACT

A pod system for use with a houseboat assembly is disclosed herein, with the pod system comprising a first pod and a second pod. The first pod and the second pod are configured to be selectively disposed in a pod slot defined by the houseboat assembly. The first pod is generally free of any locomotive capabilities, while the second pod includes a movement element. When the second pod is disposed in the pod slot, the movement element may be actuated from a helm of the houseboat assembly to impart locomotive capabilities to the houseboat assembly. When locomotive capabilities are not desired, the second pod may be replaced by the first pod in the pod slot. Connectors are provided on the houseboat assembly, first pod, and second pod to removably secure the first pod and the second pod in the pod slot as desired.

BACKGROUND

Conventional houseboats are manufactured with an integrated engine ormotor for enabling movement of the houseboat on the water. However, manyhouseboat owners frequently choose to remain at the dock for a majorityof the boating season, rarely if ever taking the houseboat out on openwater. Yet the engine or motor represents a significant portion of theoverall cost of a houseboat. Therefore, in some instances, it may bedesirable to provide a pod system for a houseboat assembly.

The pod system may comprise a pod slot defined by the houseboat assemblyand sized to selectively receive either a first pod or a second podtherein, as determined by the immediate need of the user. The first podmay be considered a “placeholder pod” type of element, configured tofill the void of the pod slot and prevent a user from falling into theempty pod slot. The second pod may be considered an “movement pod” typeof element. The movement pod may include an engine or motor and may becontrolled by a helm on the houseboat assembly. The movement pod may berented or otherwise temporarily obtained by the houseboat assembly ownerfor use in moving the houseboat assembly as desired and thereafterreturned to the proper owner of the movement pod. The placeholder podmay be free of an engine and motor and may be used to complete theprofile of the hull and cabin assembly and “fill in” the pod slot whenan engine is not needed. Inasmuch as the placeholder pod does notinclude an engine or motor, the placeholder pod is significantly lessexpensive than the movement pod. This allows the user to purchase ahouseboat assembly and a placeholder pod and realize a significant costsavings. On the rare occasions where the houseboat assembly ownerdesires to move the houseboat assembly away from the dock and into openwater, the user may simply rent or borrow an movement pod and swap themovement pod for the placeholder pod for this short time or until nolonger desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the specification concludes with claims which particularly pointout and distinctly claim the invention, it is believed the presentinvention will be better understood from the following description ofcertain examples taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich like reference numerals identify the same elements and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a side elevational view of an exemplary houseboatassembly incorporating an exemplary pod system;

FIG. 2 depicts a partial top cross-sectional view of the houseboatassembly of FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 depicts a view similar to FIG. 2 with a first pod disposed in apod slot defined by the houseboat assembly;

FIG. 4 depicts a view similar to FIG. 2 with a second pod disposed inthe pod slot of the houseboat assembly;

FIG. 5 depicts a cross-sectional view of the first pod of FIG. 3, takenalong line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 depicts a rear perspective view of another exemplary houseboatassembly and another exemplary first pod similar to FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 depicts a cross-sectional view of the second pod of FIG. 4, takenalong line 7-7 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 depicts a cross-sectional view of another exemplary second pod,similar to the second pod depicted in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 depicts a cross-sectional view of yet another exemplary secondpod, similar to the second pod depicted in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 depicts a partial top cross-sectional view similar to FIGS. 2-4,with first pod moving out of the pod slot of the houseboat assembly andthe second pod moving into the pod slot;

FIG. 11 depicts a flowchart for an exemplary method of the pod system;and

FIG. 12 depicts a top perspective view of an exemplary sliding bolt foruse in the pod system.

The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it iscontemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carriedout in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depictedin the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming apart of the specification illustrate several aspects of the presentinvention, and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples of the invention; it being understood, however, that thisinvention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description of certain examples of the invention shouldnot be used to limit the scope of the present invention. Other examples,features, aspects, embodiments, and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the followingdescription, which is by way of illustration, one of the best modescontemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, theinvention is capable of other different and obvious aspects, all withoutdeparting from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptionsshould be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

It will be appreciated that any one or more of the teachings,expressions, versions, examples, etc. described herein may be combinedwith any one or more of the other teachings, expressions, versions,examples, etc. that are described herein. The following-describedteachings, expressions, versions, examples, etc. should therefore not beviewed in isolation relative to each other. Various suitable ways inwhich the teachings herein may be combined will be readily apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. Suchmodifications and variations are intended to be included within thescope of the claims.

I. Exemplary Pod System

An exemplary pod system (1) for a houseboat assembly (3) is shown anddescribed in FIGS. 1-12. Some versions of houseboat assembly (3) includea hull assembly (5) and a cabin assembly (7), as described in U.S. Ser.No. 15/637,678, filed on Jun. 29, 2017, and incorporated herein byreference and Ser. No. 15/637,508, filed on Jun. 29, 2017, andincorporated herein by reference.

Houseboat assembly (3) extends from a fore area (9) to an aft area (11)and may include various common houseboat features disposed therein,including a living room, kitchen, and bedroom areas. Houseboat assembly(3) further includes bow (13), a stern (15), and a helm (17). Helm (17)includes various controls such as a wheel (not shown) or knobs (notshown) or any other associated equipment or controls for actuating orcontrolling various features of houseboat assembly (3). While helm (17)is shown and described as proximate bow (13), helm (17) may be locatedanywhere along houseboat assembly (3) or several helms (17) may beprovided.

Houseboat assembly (3) further includes a bow thruster (19) locatedproximate bow (13). Bow thruster (19) is controllable via helm (17) andoperatively coupled therewith. As shown in FIG. 2, houseboat assembly(3) includes a peripheral side surface (21) and a peripheral top surface(22) that cooperate to define a pod slot (23) in aft area (11). Aplurality of connectors (24) are disposed around peripheral top surface(22) of aft area (11).

i. First Pod

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 6, pod slot (23) is sized and configured toselectively receive a first pod (25) therein. First pod (25) includes aplurality of connectors (29) oriented and configured to selectivelyconnect with plurality of connectors (24) disposed around peripheral topsurface (22). Connectors (24) and connectors (29) engage and cooporateto removably secure first pod (25) within pod slot (23). In someversions of pod system (1), connectors (24) and connectors (29) may takethe form of brackets with each bracket defining a channel therein. Aremovable element such as a cotter pin (30) may be used to slide througheach channel and removably secure first pod (25) within pod slot (23).In some versions of pod system (1), each cotter pin (30) extends from awire (not shown) or other elongated element having an end secured toeither the associated connector (24) or peripheral top surface (22) toprevent cotter pin (30) from being lost overboard or misplaced. Cotterpins (30) may be a sufficient gauge to allow one or more users to standon first pod (25) without disconnecting first pod (25) from pod slot(23) or breaking any one of connectors (24), connectors (29), or cotterpins (30).

As shown in FIG. 12, rather than cotter pins (30), some versions of podsystem (1) may include a removable element such a sliding bolt (32)incorporated with connectors (24). Sliding bolts (32) may be moved toengage connectors (29) of first pod (25) to removably secure first pod(25) within pod slot (23). In some versions, each sliding bolt (32) isconnected to a knob (34) or a ring such as a “D-ring” (not shown) toactuate the movement of sliding bolt (32). Connectors (24) may include arecess or stepped portion to allow each D-ring to recess into aft area(11) of houseboat assembly (3) when not in use to prevent tripping onthe rings by a user.

First pod (25) is configured to act as a placeholder or void fillingelement for pod slot (23). First pod (25) is configured to float onwater to allow a user to manually push or pull first pod (25) while itfloats on the water surrounding houseboat assembly (3).

In some embodiments of first pod (25), the overall profile of first pod(25) is configured to match the profile of aft area (11) surroundingperipheral side surface (21) and peripheral top surface (22). Forexample, if a portion of aft area (11) is stepped or angled, first pod(25) may include a matching stepped or angled profile to incorporatefirst pod (25) into aft area (11). In some embodiments of first pod(25), aft area (11) includes a surface profile and first pod (25)includes a matching surface profile.

As shown in FIG. 6, some versions of first pod (25) may include astepped profile for complementing the profile of pod slot (23) and aftarea (11). A subset of connectors (29) may be disposed on differentlevels of first pod (25) to engage with similarly disposed connectors(24) on peripheral top surface (22). By forming first pod (25) to have acomplementing profile with respect to aft area (11), a smooth continuousaft area (11) surface is provided to the user with minimal obstructionsor severe changes in relative heights between first pod (25) and aftarea (11).

ii. Second Pod

As shown in FIG. 4, pod system (1) includes a second pod (27). Secondpod (27) is similar in most respect to first pod (25). Second pod (27)is configured to float on water and may include a profile configured tomatch or complement the profile of aft area (11). Second pod (27)includes a plurality of connectors (31) oriented and configured toselectively connect with connectors (24) disposed around peripheral topsurface (22). Similar to connectors (29) of first pod (25), connectors(24) and connectors (31) engage to removably secure second pod (27)within pod slot (23). In some versions of pod system (1), connectors(24) and connectors (31) may take the form of brackets with each bracketdefining a channel therein. A removable element such as theaforementioned cotter pin (30), sliding bolt (32), or D-rings may beused to slide through each channel and removably secure second pod (27)within pod slot (23).

When disposed within pod slot (23), second pod (27) is configured toprovide locomotive or movement capabilities to houseboat assembly (3)via a movement element (33), controlled through a pod control element(35). Pod control element (35) is configured to connect with acorresponding houseboat control element (37) provided by houseboatassembly (3) within aft area (11). Pod control element (35) andhouseboat control element (37) communicate to allow a user to manipulatemovement element (33) from helm (17) and in turn manipulate the movementof houseboat assembly (3).

As shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 7-9, one or more electrical and/ormechanical wires (39) extend from pod control element (35) to movementelement (33). Similarly, as shown in FIG. 1, a series of electricaland/or mechanical wires (40) extend from houseboat control element (37)to helm (17). When second pod (27) is secured in pod slot (23) and podcontrol element (35) is connected to houseboat control element (37),actuation commands initiated through helm (17) are transmitted throughwires (40) to wires (39) and on to movement element (33) to manipulatevarious features of movement element (33). Thus, helm (17) may be usedto pilot houseboat assembly (3) and to transfer control informationbetween helm (17) and movement element (33).

As shown in FIG. 7, some versions of movement element (33) may comprisea propeller (41) connected to a motor (43), whereby motor (43) isconfigured to receive control information through wires (39) and actuatepropeller (41) accordingly to provide forward and reverse thrust tohouseboat assembly (3). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, some versions ofmovement element (33) may be powered through wires (39, 40) from a powersource (42) located within houseboat assembly (3). Power source (42) ofhouseboat assembly (3) may be a battery or a gas or diesel poweredgenerator or any other element for providing power to movement element(33) through wires (39, 40).

In some versions of second pod (27), shown in FIG. 8 as second pod(27A), movement element (33) may be powered through wires (39) from apower source (45) located within second pod (27). Power source (45) maybe in the form of a battery or a gas or diesel powered generator or anyother element for providing power to movement element (33). Someversions of power source (45) include a single use battery, while otherversions of power source (45) include a rechargeable battery. Arecharging mechanism (47) such as a plug, outlet, or receptacle may beprovided to receive electrical power and recharge power source (45) froman outside source. Alternatively, recharging mechanism (47) may beembodied in a solar panel for charging power source (45) through solarpower.

In some versions of second pod (27, 27A), movement element (33) mayfurther include a stern thruster (49) having a propeller (50). In someembodiments of movement element (33), the general orientation ofpropeller (50) is perpendicular to the orientation of propeller (41).Similar to propeller (41), stern thruster (49) may be powered via powersource (42) located within houseboat assembly (3) or power source (45)located within second pod (27) and actuated via wires (39, 40) from helm(17) to provide lateral thrust to houseboat assembly (3).

In some versions of second pod (27), shown in FIG. 9 as second pod(27B), rather than a motor (43), a gas or diesel powered engine (55)with an associated fuel tank (47) may be provided for powering propeller(41) and/or stern thruster (49). Engine (55) burns the fuel from fueltank (57) to provide mechanical rotary motion to propeller (41). Fueltank (47) may be filled with gas or diesel or any other fuel by removinga cap (59) disposed on a surface of second pod (27B) to reveal a channel(60) extending to fuel tank (47).

II. Exemplary Method of Using Pod System

As shown in FIGS. 2-4, 10, and 11, pod system (1) may facilitate theselective swapping between first pod (25) and second pod (27) within podslot (23) as desired by the user. Swapping first pod (25) for second pod(27) proceeds as follows. First, the user disconnects first pod (25)from pod slot (23) of aft area (11) by decoupling connectors (29) offirst pod (25) from connectors (24) of houseboat assembly (3). Thisreleases first pod (25) from the secure connection with houseboatassembly (3) and allows first pod (25) to move freely and independentlyaway from pod slot (23) of houseboat assembly (3). Thereafter, the usermanually moves first pod (25) out of pod slot (23) in the direction ofArrow A depicted in FIG. 10. Inasmuch as first pod (25) is configured tofloat on water, first pod (25) may be moved by pushing or pulling thefloating first pod (25) away from houseboat assembly (3) to anotherarea. Once pod slot (23) is empty and free of first pod (25), second pod(27) may then be moved into pod slot (23) by pushing or pulling thefloating second pod (25) into pod slot (23).

Once second pod (27) is disposed within pod slot (23), connectors (31)of second pod (27) are connected to connectors (24) of houseboatassembly (3) to secure second pod (27) to houseboat assembly (3). Insome versions of pod system (1), the aforementioned cotter pins (30),sliding bolts (32), other elements may be used to secure second pod (27)to houseboat assembly (3) by way of connectors (24, 31). Once second pod(27) is secured to houseboat assembly (3), pod control element (35) ofsecond pod (27) is connected to houseboat control element (37) ofhouseboat assembly (3) to enable communications and link helm (17) withsecond pod (27). Thereafter, a user of houseboat assembly (3) maymanipulate helm (17) to control various actions of second pod (27). Helm(17) may be used to actuate propeller (50) to move houseboat assembly(3) forward or reverse as desired. Helm (17) may also be configured toactuate both bow thruster (19) and stern thruster (49) to move houseboatassembly (3) laterally as desired, either simultaneously orindependently.

With locomotive or movement capabilities provided through second pod(27), a user may travel away from a dock or other area under the powerof houseboat assembly (3) by way of second pod (27). Once locomotive ormovement capabilities are no longer required by houseboat assembly (3),second pod (27) may be removed from pod slot (23) by reversing thepreviously described steps and moving second pod (27) away fromhouseboat assembly (3). First pod (25) may then be placed into pod slot(23) to fill the void of pod slot (23).

Houseboat owners typically spend a large portion of time at a dock orslip enjoying the houseboat. Inasmuch as a motor or engine represents alarge portion of the cost of purchasing a houseboat, manufacturers mayproduce and sell houseboats similar to houseboat assembly (3) with podslot (23) formed in aft area (11). Customers may then purchase anengine-less or motor-less houseboat assembly (3) for use at a dock orother stationary location for a lower overall cost. When the owner ofhouseboat assembly (3) desires to move houseboat assembly (3) from thedock or other stationary location, an embodiment of second pod (27)owned by the waterfront community or marina may be borrowed or rented totemporarily provide locomotive capabilities to houseboat assembly (3).The renting of second pod (27) by a marina may be an additional revenuestream or an additional benefit of renting a slip or dock at thatparticular marina or waterfront community.

An exemplary method (101) is depicted in FIG. 11 and begins with a step(103). In step (103), a first pod is removed from a pod slot of ahouseboat assembly. The first pod, pod slot, and houseboat assembly aresimilar to first pod (25), pod slot (23), and houseboat assembly (3)described above. To remove the first pod from the pod slot, a series ofconnectors disposed on one or both of the first pod and the houseboatassembly are disconnected to release the first pod from the houseboatassembly. Thereafter the first pod is free to move out of the pod slot,leaving pod slot empty and able to receive another pod type of elementas desired.

Once the first pod is removed from the pod slot, step (103) moves to astep (105).

In step (105), a second pod is secured in the pod slot. The second podis similar to second pod (27) described above. To secure the second podin the pod slot, a series of connectors disposed on one or both of thesecond pod and the houseboat assembly are engaged to connect the secondpod to the houseboat assembly and secure the second pod in the pod slot.Further, a control connector of the second pod may be connected with acontrol connector of the houseboat assembly to enable communicationbetween a helm of the houseboat assembly and the second pod.Communication between the helm and the second pod may be facilitatedthrough mechanical elements such as pulling or pushing a wire.Alternatively, communication may be facilitated through electronictransmissions along the wire between the helm and the second pod.

After the second pod is secured in the pod slot, step (105) moves to astep (107).

In step (107), a movement element of the second pod is actuated via ahelm of the houseboat. Movement element and helm are similar to movementelement (33) and helm (17) as described above.

Method (101) may include further steps or sub-steps such as connectingthe helm of the houseboat with the movement element when the second podis secured in the pod slot or manipulating the helm to actuate themovement element of the second pod. In those versions of method (101)where movement element includes a stern thruster, method (101) mayinclude manipulating the helm to simultaneously actuate the sternthruster and a bow thruster of the houseboat.

III. Exemplary Combinations

The following examples relate to various non-exhaustive ways in whichthe teachings herein may be combined or applied. It should be understoodthat the following examples are not intended to restrict the coverage ofany claims that may be presented at any time in this application or insubsequent filings of this application. No disclaimer is intended. Thefollowing examples are being provided for nothing more than merelyillustrative purposes. It is contemplated that the various teachingsherein may be arranged and applied in numerous other ways. It is alsocontemplated that some variations may omit certain features referred toin the below examples. Therefore, none of the aspects or featuresreferred to below should be deemed critical unless otherwise explicitlyindicated as such at a later date by the inventors or by a successor ininterest to the inventors. If any claims are presented in thisapplication or in subsequent filings related to this application thatinclude additional features beyond those referred to below, thoseadditional features shall not be presumed to have been added for anyreason relating to patentability.

EXAMPLE 1

A houseboat assembly comprising: a helm; a pod slot, wherein the podslot is defined by an aft area of the houseboat assembly, wherein thepod slot is configured to selectively receive a pod therein; a connectorproximate the pod slot, wherein the connector is configured tomechanically connect with the pod to secure the pod in the pod slot; anda control element proximate the pod slot, wherein the control element isconfigured to connect with the pod to facilitate communication betweenthe helm and the pod.

EXAMPLE 2

The houseboat assembly of any one of the previous or following Examples,further comprising a power source, wherein the power source isconfigured to power a movement element of the pod.

EXAMPLE 3

The houseboat assembly of any one of the previous or following Examples,wherein the control element is configured to electronically connect withthe pod to facilitate electronic communication between the helm and thepod.

EXAMPLE 4

A system comprising: a houseboat assembly, wherein the houseboatassembly defines a pod slot; and a pod system comprising: a first pod,wherein the first pod is configured to fit in the pod slot, and a secondpod, wherein the second pod includes a movement element, wherein thesecond pod is configured to fit in the pod slot.

EXAMPLE 5

The system of any one of the previous or following Examples, wherein thehouseboat assembly includes a first connector disposed on the houseboatassembly proximate the pod slot, wherein the first connector isconfigured to secure the second pod in the pod slot.

EXAMPLE 6

The system of any one of the previous or following Examples, wherein thesecond pod includes a second connector, wherein the first connector andthe second connector are configured to engage to secure the second podin the pod slot.

EXAMPLE 7

The system of any one of the previous or following Examples, furthercomprising a removable element configured to connect first connector tosecond connector to secure the second pod in the pod slot.

EXAMPLE 8

The system of any one of the previous or following Examples, wherein theremovable element is a cotter pin, a sliding bolt, or a D-ring.

EXAMPLE 9

The system of any one of the previous or following Examples, wherein themovement element includes a propeller powered or rotated by a powersource.

EXAMPLE 10

The system of any one of the previous or following Examples, wherein thepower source is disposed in the houseboat assembly.

EXAMPLE 11

The system of any one of the previous or following Examples, wherein thepower source is disposed in the second pod.

EXAMPLE 12

The system of any one of the previous or following Examples, wherein thepower source is a rechargeable battery.

EXAMPLE 13

The system of any one of the previous or following Examples, furthercomprising a solar panel, wherein the battery is recharged by the solarpanel.

EXAMPLE 14

The system of any one of the previous or following Examples, wherein themovement element includes a stern thruster.

EXAMPLE 15

The system of any one of the previous or following Examples, wherein thehouseboat assembly includes a bow thruster, and wherein the helm isconfigured to actuate the stern thruster and the bow thrustersimultaneously when the second pod is secured within the pod slot.

EXAMPLE 16

A method comprising: removing a first pod from a pod slot defined by ahouseboat assembly; securing a second pod in the pod slot; and actuatinga movement element of the second pod to move the houseboat assembly.

EXAMPLE 17

The method of any of the previous or following Examples, furthercomprising connecting a helm of the houseboat assembly with the movementelement when the second pod is secured in the pod slot.

EXAMPLE 18

The method of any of the previous or following Examples, furthercomprising manipulating the helm to actuate the movement element of thesecond pod.

EXAMPLE 19

The method of any of the previous or following Examples, wherein themovement element includes a stern thruster.

EXAMPLE 20

The method of any of the previous Examples, further comprisingmanipulating the helm to actuate the stern thruster and a bow thrusterof the houseboat assembly simultaneously.

IV. Miscellaneous

It should be understood that any of the examples described herein mayinclude various other features in addition to or in lieu of thosedescribed above. By way of example only, any of the examples describedherein may also include one or more of the various features disclosed inany of the various references that are incorporated by reference herein.

It should be understood that any one or more of the teachings,expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. described herein may becombined with any one or more of the other teachings, expressions,embodiments, examples, etc. that are described herein. Theabove-described teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc.should therefore not be viewed in isolation relative to each other.Various suitable ways in which the teachings herein may be combined willbe readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of theteachings herein. Such modifications and variations are intended to beincluded within the scope of the claims.

It should be appreciated that any patent, publication, or otherdisclosure material, in whole or in part, that is said to beincorporated by reference herein is incorporated herein only to theextent that the incorporated material does not conflict with existingdefinitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth in thisdisclosure. As such, and to the extent necessary, the disclosure asexplicitly set forth herein supersedes any conflicting materialincorporated herein by reference. Any material, or portion thereof, thatis said to be incorporated by reference herein, but which conflicts withexisting definitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forthherein will only be incorporated to the extent that no conflict arisesbetween that incorporated material and the existing disclosure material.

Having shown and described various versions of the present invention,further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may beaccomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill inthe art without departing from the scope of the present invention.Several of such potential modifications have been mentioned, and otherswill be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, theexamples, versions, geometrics, materials, dimensions, ratios, steps,and the like discussed above are illustrative and are not required.Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered interms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to thedetails of structure and operation shown and described in thespecification and drawings.

I/We claim:
 1. A houseboat assembly comprising: (a) a helm; (b) a podslot, wherein the pod slot is defined by an aft area of the houseboatassembly, wherein the pod slot is configured to selectively receive apod therein; (c) a connector proximate the pod slot, wherein theconnector is configured to mechanically connect with the pod to securethe pod in the pod slot; and (d) a control element proximate the podslot, wherein the control element is configured to connect with the podto facilitate communication between the helm and the pod.
 2. Thehouseboat assembly of claim 1, further comprising a power source,wherein the power source is configured to power a movement element ofthe pod.
 3. The houseboat assembly of claim 1, wherein the controlelement is configured to electronically connect with the pod tofacilitate electronic communication between the helm and the pod.
 4. Asystem comprising: (a) a houseboat assembly, wherein the houseboatassembly defines a pod slot; and (b) a pod system comprising: (i) afirst pod, wherein the first pod is configured to fit in the pod slot,and (ii) a second pod, wherein the second pod includes a movementelement, wherein the second pod is configured to fit in the pod slot. 5.The system of claim 4, wherein the houseboat assembly includes a firstconnector disposed on the houseboat assembly proximate the pod slot,wherein the first connector is configured to secure the second pod inthe pod slot.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the second pod includesa second connector, wherein the first connector and the second connectorare configured to engage to secure the second pod in the pod slot. 7.The system of claim 6, further comprising a removable element configuredto connect first connector to second connector to secure the second podin the pod slot.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the removable elementis a cotter pin.
 9. The system of claim 4, wherein the movement elementincludes a propeller powered by a power source.
 10. The system of claim9, wherein the power source is disposed in the houseboat assembly. 11.The system of claim 9, wherein the power source is disposed in thesecond pod.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the power source is arechargeable battery.
 13. The system of claim 12, further comprising asolar panel, wherein the battery is recharged by the solar panel. 14.The system of claim 4, wherein the movement element includes a sternthruster.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the houseboat assemblyincludes a bow thruster, and wherein the helm is configured to actuatethe stern thruster and the bow thruster simultaneously when the secondpod is secured within the pod slot.
 16. A method comprising: (a)removing a first pod from a pod slot defined by a houseboat assembly;(b) securing a second pod in the pod slot; and (c) actuating a movementelement of the second pod to move the houseboat assembly.
 17. The methodof claim 16, further comprising connecting a helm of the houseboatassembly with the movement element when the second pod is secured in thepod slot.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising manipulatingthe helm to actuate the movement element of the second pod.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the movement element includes a sternthruster.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising manipulatingthe helm to actuate the stern thruster and a bow thruster of thehouseboat assembly simultaneously.